I think it's like they know when some time frees up in my life. Bella's feeding tube is out and she seems better...so, ya know... bring on the projects!!

Adam owns a liquor store. This afternoon, someone tied up a little blue fawn pit bull to a pole outside the gas station next door. By 10pm, the garage was closed and the puppy was still there, so Adam brought her into the shop. I've set up a collapsible fabric crate in the laundry room until we can get her to the vet first thing in the morning.

She's very, very cute and sweet. Very skinny, some skin issues, among other things. Still has some of her milk teeth, so she's not all that old. And she has super cute bat ears. She barked herself into exhaustion, but was good in the shop, even when about 20 customers were milling around inside.

The last thing I need is another female in the house, although everyone did well when my mom's girl Gypsy stayed the week with us...

I'd like to say we're keeping her long enough to potty train her and find her a home. But Adam's already named her Luna, after the full moon tonight, so... yeah. It remains to be seen how she fits in with the rest of our crew.

I am fu*ked.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

Just up with potty break number 2 since Adam brought her home around midnight. She's peed both times on leash and is seeming a bit more puppy-ish, more energetic. The fabric crate was just too much for her little nerves so I put her in our all tile bathroom that I can bleach if any of her skin problems are contagious. Gave her a peanut butter/kibble kong and she whined a little, but not too bad.

I think this and a teenager in the house are all a test to make sure I really, REALLY, REALLY want to have a human baby of my own... REALLY?

Vet opens at 9, but they'll let me in earlier, so I just have to make it until then. Maybe I can get some sleep.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

No mange or anything contagious. This is a huge relief, seeing as how I was not looking forward to bleaching the house.

A few ticks and hundreds, thousands, of fleas. which therefore means a lot of itchy skin, pustules, and red patches. Antibiotic for that.

Worms. Panacur.

A lovely disposition. She was certainly a little uncertain about going to a new place, but she wasn't scared exactly, and forged ahead with very little hesitancy. She made a fast friend in the waiting room with a 10 year old boy. Didn't even flinch for her shot.

I saw her last night when she was exhausted, curled in a ball, head down, or in the dark walking with me. But seeing her in the morning, she is most definitely a shar pei mix, most likely with pit; the vet agrees, and says she's about 5 months old. I'll get better pictures later, but here's a quick crappy one. The shar pei-ness is really strong when she's up and around, especially in profile-- a very round muzzle and almond eyes. She's a sweetie for sure.

The vet also reminded me that shar pei's have horrible skin in general-- he said his dermatology text has an entire chapter devoted to the breed, so we'll see how she does with the antibiotics and diet change.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

Suzanne-- I really wasn't looking for a new dog, and we still haven't introduced her to everyone, though they've had glimpses of each other and seem excited (in a good way!). I had thought about adopting a senior, or waiting until awhile after having a human baby...

But sometimes the animals pick you, and corny as it sounds, I really believe that. She was tied with a flexi-lead to a pole in a public spot for about 5 hours with no water, and it's been well over a hundred degrees every day for a while now. No microchip or anything. The shop she was in front of was closed with her still tied up outside-- I think someone was trying to dump her.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

I have found that sometimes the allergy dogs coats feel a lot more bristly until you get them under control. A lot of times that bristle fur (amd swelling) will give way to a softer coat when the allergies calm down. She doesn't look that SHar Pei-ish to me but I've seen a lot of bat eared PB's that look a little like that.

~Jeanine

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

BigDogBuford wrote:I have found that sometimes the allergy dogs coats feel a lot more bristly until you get them under control. A lot of times that bristle fur (amd swelling) will give way to a softer coat when the allergies calm down. She doesn't look that SHar Pei-ish to me but I've seen a lot of bat eared PB's that look a little like that.

I didn't think she looked like it all that much last night...and she doesn't in any of the pictures I have... but, in person, you can often see a slightly hippo shaped muzzle-- it's wide and round and almost has the two distinct flews. On the other hand, young puppies can have that shape of face...and on yet ANOTHER hand, pitXshar pei a pretty common cross breeding in this area.

I don't care all that much, I was just surprised when I looked at her this morning and it was so distinct...and when I walked into the vet they immediately said, "oh, you have a little shar pei mix," and they see a LOT of pit bulls in that neighborhood and that clinic...

Eh. Her bat ears are what sold me.

She had some nasty loose stool all over the bathroom. With worms and the sudden richer food, I'm not surprised. I think I'm just going to buy the smallest bag of puppy chow I can find, and transition her to something good (grain free, probably) over the next 3 or 4 days, since crappy food's likely what she was eating.

The vet dosed her with Advantage, so I can't bathe her yet, but I want to so badly. She's so itchy and she smells like irritated skin.

So many signs pointing to "feed raw," lately...

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

Most of my animals wandered up to my porch, and I just think they could smell on the house that this was a place where people would take care of them.

Did some parallel leash walks yesterday and eventually let them all meet individually-- Robin and Luna CANNOT stop playing. They took one look at each other in at about 6:30 this morning and instantly starting wrestling around the kitchen. Robin likes to show off by running extra fast complicated courses around the yard and letting Luna chase her. But Luna's wised up to it now-- instead of just following her (which she was doing at first), she stays in one place and waits to see where Robin's going so she can head her off there. Brains vs Speed.

I know she's a puppy, and their mutual affection may not last, but we're enjoying it now (especially the very tired and happy dogs that results!) and trying to always step in when Luna's over-stepping her bounds, when Robin's had enough, etc. And while River isn't keen on having a puppy around, she's an excellent communicator and will do a good job of helping to teach Luna some boundaries and manners.

We picked up a crate yesterday and started feeding her meals in it. For anyone in the market for a new wire crate, we bought this one-- a 36 inch, 2 door crate from Petco for $115, which is a complete rip-off. So we ALSO ordered the exact same crate, also from Petco, for $54 with free shipping, and we'll return the fresh one to the store when it arrives. Super soft 36 inch crate pads are running $15 at Target, too.

Bless her heart, now that she's had the Advantage on for 24 hours, she's getting a bath this afternoon. With all the fleas gone, I can see how covered in little seed ticks she is. I'd have used Frontline or Fiproguard, but it doesn't work on fleas in our area anymore.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford